A-Cross Another Life
by The Master of Dimensions Jr
Summary: A series of one-shots depicting the various relationships Cross has made with all of his BLADE teammates, including those that joined him out of their own volition. Main pairing is CrossxElma. Warning: spoilers for main story and certain affinity missions.
1. Cross and Elma: Reflection

**I won't be getting around doing this as often as I want due to school and classes, but having received enough support from you readers along with my own fondness for the game has inspired a series of one-shots that would hopefully properly depict the relationships the player forms with his or her available teammates.**

 **For the sake of consistency, the main avatar will maintain the name of Cross. His looks, personality, OC backstory, etc. will be carried over from my other** _ **Xenoblade Chronicles X**_ **fic,** _ **Chasing Shadows**_ **. Also, this first contribution could be considered a sort-of sequel to the mentioned story, assuming you read it beforehand. As such, this first one is of the relationship between Cross and Elma.**

 **If you want to imagine his looks, his face is the Boy B type, wherein his eyes are small and fierce with his default hairstyle being fairly long that reaches down to his ears all around and is parted around the right side, leaving a gap free of bangs over his right eye. He does lack the default facial scar, his hair color is pitch-black, and his pupils are dark brown/blackish. Skin is fairly light, though a smidge tanned. He is taller than Elma by a couple of centimeters, so pretty average, if not small, body build.**

 **I fashioned him with Upgraded BLADE Wear, giving him a dark blue/indigo BLADE jacket and dark-colored pants. And I gave him the Heroic voice, provided by Yuri Lowenthal, famous for his roles as Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto and teenage Ben Tennyson from Ben 10, just if you want to imagine him speaking any provided dialogue here. I did wish Cross could've spoken during dialogue instead of Soul Voices and external grunts, but it'd probably be hectic with all of the voice options provided for him/her.**

 **And again, there will be spoilers regarding post-story and some missions.**

* * *

The city of New Los Angeles was still anything but totally peaceful. Sure, the antagonistic Ganglion forces were scattered due to the defeat of Luxaar and the Lifehold Core had been secured, but things were just as busy within the human city.

Alliances between various alien races were still honored and maintained for the sake of surviving on Mira. And the friendships forged through these times of trial were certainly not going to fade away any time soon.

After completing a random bounty mission of slaying a number of grexes in Primordia, Cross opted to fly around inside his Skell for the time being. It was getting rather late in the afternoon, but he didn't feel like returning to the BLADE Barracks for immediate rest.

He had been going solo for a bit, needing a bit of a break from his official team. Elma, Lin, and even Tatsu were endearing to him, but even he needed to be apart from them for a little bit. He was also sure that they had plenty of business of their own to work on with Elma being the official team leader and practically within the top ranks of BLADE, Lin working on various mechanical schematics, and Tatsu pestering Lin for dinner only to be rebutted by being served the main dish.

They certainly had their quirks as he thought about them. Of course, he tried imagining himself through their eyes.

Elma would no doubt mark him as a top BLADE agent, among other things she found fond of him as of late after their little moment during the celebration of securing the Lifehold Core.

Lin would see him as a stern, though often wise-cracking and snarky father figure that would make her laugh from time to time with some one-liners or sardonic gestures.

And Tatsu… well, Tatsu is Tatsu. While the ambitious Nopon would often put all of the heavy burdens on the humans' shoulders while taking all credit for the work, he did regard them as his closest friends.

In short, they were practically one happy family.

Upon flying over peculiar landmarks, Cross looked as far down as his position within the Skell cockpit would allow him to. He found the place.

Shadow Rise.

It was adjacent to Starfall Basin, where Elma first found him in stasis prior to reawakening him.

Cross was able to see the base camp situated nearby the edge where he witnessed his first sunrise here in Mira. He then prepared to land and trusted the BLADEs stationed there to watch over his Skell as he dismounted and walked along Shadow Rise's high ridge.

It was just on time, too, as he noticed the sun beginning to set.

It was as he theorized: the sunset from this side of Primordia was just as gorgeous as its sunrise.

"You have great taste, Rook," a familiar, soothing voice next to him spoke up. "Or should I say 'love'?"

Cross stumbled back a bit, somewhat surprised that she found him out here. Then again, they knew each other well enough that it was relatively simple to predict where the other would usually turn up. He couldn't help but smirk at the circumstances.

Elma.

His team leader, who previously posed as a human before revealing her true self at the Lifehold Core as an alien of unknown origins and great beauty. The hues of the sunset highlighted her now pale skin. Her crystalline, silver-lavender hair glittered from the refractions. It took a moment for Cross to realize that she was competing with the setting sun for his attention.

"I take it back," Cross muttered aloud.

"Hmm?" Elma prompted as to what he was talking about.

"Watching the sunset with _you_ here on Shadow Rise can't be topped," Cross continued.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Elma replied, smiling back at him fondly. "I missed you."

"Heh, missed you too."

Cross felt that it wasn't his place to question his new lover why she went out of her way to find him and be with him, even though he originally wanted to be alone. It was one thing seeing Elma as the calm, no-nonsense leader she made herself out to be before they found the Lifehold Core. He was still adjusting to her personality side outside of work, in which she was more sociable, had a great sense of humor, and generally appeared happier.

She had no need to uphold her BLADE persona out of work, but knew when to keep things in order should she wind up in a chaotic situation.

And though she didn't openly expressed it, she wanted to be in his company more since they decided to become a couple that night after returning from the Lifehold Core. She encouraged him to share his past with her when he had revealed that his memories had returned through some mysterious phenomenon.

Cross claimed that it took several blows to the head during fights with the Ganglion and wild indigens that did the trick. Elma still theorized that it might have something to do with Mira as, with the exception of L, all other sentient xenos were capable of communicating with humans and with one another despite having respective languages of their own, much as how the humans have English.

In any case, Elma wanted to spend more time with him now that they have the rest of Mira to explore.

"I know I shouldn't be surprised that you've been going about doing things on your own again," Elma spoke up. "Still, I can't help but feel a bit hurt that you haven't told anyone what you've been up to."

"I did a few more bounty missions," Cross explained. "I already sent my reports in to Eleonora. She should've sent the rewards to you, leader."

"I got them, all right," Elma concurred. "I had to find out through her to find you though. You don't make this game of hide-and-seek easy, that's for sure."

"You _are_ stubborn, I'll give you that," Cross remarked. "Am I really worth going through all that trouble?"

"Am I standing with you now?" Elma quipped.

Fair point.

Knowing that there was no point in arguing with her, especially under a lovely sunset, Cross shrugged his shoulders in surrender and turned back to look at the vibrant Miran sky. Elma also followed suit while taking inconspicuous steps closer to the sharp BLADE.

Her need for intimacy was astounding, to say the least. It didn't help the fact that she had been alone for most of her life as she had also dedicated herself to helping others out to fill that particular void. That, and there wasn't a male worthy of her affections for as long as she had been on Earth.

And yet, when it came down to adding Cross into her team and training him to meet BLADE standards, she found herself actually falling in love with him, though chose not to actively pursue him due to the predicaments humanity was facing at that time, from the Lifehold running out of power for everyone's mimeosomes to the Ganglion constantly nipping at their heels for their eradication. And she felt certain Cross was the same in his dedication to helping humanity survive to the point that he couldn't consider other factors like romance taking up his time.

Truth be told, her being around Cross for as long as they have was the longest time she spent with a member of the opposite sex that would fit her proposed age range. She worked with other guys, like Danny and Boris, but didn't get to know them long enough before they met their demise at the claws of a powerful indigen.

 _Maybe that's why it's different with him_ , Elma thought, taking a glance at Cross while a peaceful expression blanketed his face as he gazed into the sky.

Elma would admit that unlike most other males, she did gain a curiosity for Cross and what he was like because he had awakened from cryogenic stasis with amnesia. It was like having a huge mysterious puzzle to solve, but without any clue on which piece went where or what kind of final picture it was supposed to have. And she was the type of being that would accept challenges that would be deemed worthwhile in the end.

And boy, did it ever reward her at this time.

She reflected back to the morning after her and Cross decided to become an official couple. They brought the news out to everyone they knew and worked with.

Lin couldn't be any happier for them, remarking that their team was becoming more of a family now than ever before. Tatsu did a dance of joyful felicitations, as he would call it, with L as his backup dancer. L compared their step up into a new relation as tasting the joys of the forbidden fruit, which didn't make too much sense for those around him. Irina was proud that her former colonel finally found a man that she herself would consider worthy while Gwin jested that it was her turn next. Doug applauded the two and offered to treat them out later.

The higher-ups were pleased to hear that their relationship had taken the next step, but didn't press it further. However, Vandham was not above taking cheap shots about Cross and Elma being a thing. Fortunately, Nagi was there to reel him back in case he got out of hand with his raucous remarks. The defense secretary was especially pleased to learn that Cross was finally growing up and becoming a real man.

Following them, other BLADE members that worked mainly with Cross on missions shared their input on the relationship.

Celica wanted to make them special Qlurian floral arrangements to signify their intimate bond. Rock also wanted to build them their own house once he was done building his and Celica's.

Hope gave them her blessing that all would turn out well for the new chapter in their lives, making it sound like they were getting married straight off the bat. Marriage was still far off their minds, but neither of them actually denied that possibility either.

Though initially upset that her favorite boy toy / money maker was taken away from her, Murderess still maintained a friendship with Cross as it meant future opportunities of growing the Effinger fortune back. Plus, it gave her a chance to get under Elma's skin and get a reaction from her whenever she had the opportunity to put the moves on her man. It might win her the bet, but only fate will tell if she'd be alive to enjoy her earnings.

Frye and Phog were both ecstatic for them and had opposing plans to celebrate it. With Frye, it meant drinking like there was no tomorrow. For Phog, it was sitting around in Deliverance Park and pondering about the mysteries of life.

Upon hearing this news herself, Mia was super happy for her beloved Chief while attempting to threaten Elma to not screw it up. Elma was not fazed as she wasn't planning on 'screwing up' her relationship with Cross any time soon and that Mia was not strong enough to pin her down.

Alexa gained the strange idea of modelling two Skells after them as a test to determine Skell-to-Skell compatibility. Both Cross and Elma agreed that Lin might be interested to hear about this particular research.

Bozé shared with them a rather longwinded lecture about how Eastern culture had depicted romance, from using mythical Japanese stories to breaking down upon philosophical depictions from famous intellectual monks in Earth's long-gone history. It was informative and educational, if nothing else.

H.B. was curious if having a romantic partner would boost one's efficiency in BLADE performance. He then wanted to accompany them on missions whenever possible to compare their current statistics to their previous presentations. His 'study' on them would certainly be bothersome aside from the fact that he was placing himself as their third wheel.

Proud of his pard, Yelv told Cross to never let go of his new 'pard.' At least he was to the point with his comments.

News of their relationship had also passed throughout the general public in NLA with the reception being majorly positive, both human and xeno alike. General gossip had spread like wildfire among those that had formed fanbases for Cross and Elma with some attempting to fantasize the romance for their pleasure while jealous girls and guys thought about how to win over their desired idols for themselves. There were still a few antagonizing, xenophobic naysayers that had resented Elma for deceiving them, but they were ultimately silenced as the promises of truth, freedom, and equality have prevailed over their murmurs.

"Raking up the past for its worth?" Cross inquired, having noticed Elma's contemplative look.

"You can tell?" Elma replied, surprised that he found out about what she had been thinking about.

"Not exactly," Cross explained. "That's what I've been doing since I arrived here."

"You seem so intent in going back to your past," Elma commented. "You didn't remember your life on Earth, and when you did, you acted like you wish you didn't."

"I didn't have a glorious life then," Cross resumed. "It makes me wonder if this was all worth it."

"Do you regret leaving Earth?" Elma proposed, much to his surprise.

"I don't understand," Cross responded.

"You asked if all of this has been worth it to you," Elma reminded, frowning. "Do you regret boarding the White Whale? Do you regret meeting me? Becoming a BLADE?"

Those were certainly some heavy, armor-piercing questions she threw out. Cross had already felt uncomfortable when she shot her first question. Now she was trying to get him to talk. But it wasn't Elma's style to use guilt to persuade others to perform actions. From this, he figured out what she wanted to know how he really felt about the past, even if her last questions were questionably overkill.

Despite how sympathetic she could be, Elma was still a practitioner of tough love, only with the best of intentions.

"I can't escape the past no matter what, but with it, I can learn to not have regrets," Cross mused. "However, dwelling on regrets from the past would hinder me from progression. So to answer your 'questions,' Elma, no, I don't regret meeting you or becoming a BLADE."

"It was the answer I hoped to hear, but that is also a nice insight you shared with me tonight," Elma congratulated, wrapping herself around his right arm while laying her fair head on his shoulder.

"I can't actually take credit for the lesson," Cross said. "It was something Secretary Nagi told me back on Earth when he first took me in. I didn't want anything to do with anyone after losing my only friends, but the man snapped me out of it. He helped me look to the future instead of lingering in the past."

"That sounds like him," Elma agreed. "He really taught you well."

"… Yeah."

Cross stayed silent for the remainder of the sunset. He opted to sit down on the ledge with Elma following suit. They got comfortable as the last rays of sunlight were about to be extinguished and the moons of Mira were about to rule the sky.

"Hey, Cross," Elma spoke up. "With all this talk about the past, I can't help but think that you've been finding the finer memories of your recent history."

Cross raised a brow at her, deciding to let her finish her explanation before tossing out a snarky one-liner to toy with the mood.

"This was the first place you saw your first sunrise in Mira," Elma continued. "First, it was by the elevator at the West Gate that night we became a couple. Now this. You really are learning to move on and embrace the good."

"I suppose that's true," Cross concurred.

"One last thing," Elma prompted. "Do you remember what I said to you at this spot? Its original context was making it back to New LA in one piece."

Cross easily remembered the memories he made after waking up from stasis. He clearly recalled her words as if it was this morning.

 _That said… whichever way you want to go, I'll follow your lead. You decide._

"After all this time, you still kept true to your word," Cross remarked.

"Really glad you remembered," Elma said warmly.

"That first step really was a doozy," Cross continued, only to find his leader giving him quite the harrowing look. "What?"

"You really can be impossible sometimes," Elma commented sardonically, though still bore a good-natured grin. "But it's one of the perks of being your team leader and lover. I know that you knew what I was really going for."

Cross gave her a resolute nod, still amazed to this day that she would follow him. She often gave him the lead for a few missions as means to cultivate his own ability to lead others towards survival. His sharp insights and unique charm were what drew many others to follow him and even forge alliances between alien races whereas Elma specialized in maintaining order and providing the perfect example of a stalwart BLADE operative.

She knew that he would perfectly balance her out on what she lacked much as she balanced him out on what he lacked.

Right as the sun was about to disappear for the day, the two BLADE agents drew even closer together and synchronously culminated the eventide with a sweet union of their lips. The perfectly mimicked roughness of a male human's against the soft and cold touch of a mysterious female xeno's.

It felt natural on how they became close despite the major external and visible differences they had. But having finally understood the mistakes they've made, as well as humanity's recorded sins from history, perhaps there was a chance that life on Mira would be better than it was previously on Earth.

The past had taught them well to prepare for a brighter future.

One that had no regrets.

* * *

 **I would assume that even after finding the Lifehold Core, everyone is still in a mim. After all, with the database destroyed, presumably everyone's consciousness would disappear with it. Any particular theories about Mira you have on the matter?**

 **Well, this was just another continuation with the fabricated relationship I have of Cross and Elma. The next piece I'll likely do following this is one with Cross and Lin, and by extension, Tatsu.**

 **Just one last quick note that not all future chapters are going to pertain in a steady timeline, meaning while this one takes place post-story, there will be moments that the time setting would take a step back for a certain character.**

 **And don't forget to review!**


	2. Cross and Lin: Soaring

**As promised, here is a personal one-shot moment with Cross and Lin (and Tatsu, of course!)**

* * *

It was a start of a new day at the city of New Los Angeles. It meant another opportunity to be productive. Even with the Lifehold Core secured and the fate of humanity mostly secured, that didn't mean that the adventure would stop there. There was always plenty left to do.

Exploring Mira has been the top item on every BLADE's to-do list.

Even for those that have been given the day off.

Cross fell into that situation after much 'persuasion' from Elma, which soon resorted into getting additional 'convincing' from Vandham. He wouldn't call himself a workaholic by any means, but he also felt that taking on missions was the only way to effectively pass the time. He had not taken much interest in anything else outside of BLADE work in New LA, except maybe for playing tennis at the residential district.

That, and taking naps under the trees in Deliverance Park.

He would debate that Noctilum had better trees to take naps on, but both Elma and Vandham knew that he wouldn't resist the temptation of fighting back against a hostile indigen there, even though most of the native creatures have started to leave exploring BLADEs alone due to having stopped the Ganglion from provoking them.

As such, he was specially quarantined within NLA for the day. He supposed he needed the break anyway, like everyone else.

His day began within the kitchen of the BLADE Barracks, deciding to boil himself a cup of herbal peppermint tea. He was no top-notch chef like Lin, which was why he relegated himself to simpler tasks, such as boiling water, which meant less work and less stress. He could've also scrambled eggs or heated up some leftover meat in the fridge, but chances were that he would somehow make a spectacular mess out of it and then receive an earful from Lin for ruining her kitchen.

No, he was going with the simple route of boiling his own tea.

"Friend Cross cooking something?" Tatsu called out to him, hopping on top of the counter to see. "Whatever it is, Tatsu find smell refreshing."

"He's making some tea, Tatsu," Lin clarified, walking into the kitchen. "Hey, Cross! Need some help?"

Cross shook his head no, appearing clearly focused with hopes that the boiling kettle would turn out right. Lin couldn't help but giggle good-naturedly.

"What is funny, Linly?" Tatsu asked.

"It's just boiling water, Cross," Lin reassured, casually leaning against him. "You're not dicing apart a cinicula's legs."

"… …" Cross gave her a low groan and a skeptical look.

"I promise you're not going to blow up the kitchen with just a hot tea kettle," Lin continued. "I won't believe it even if you somehow do just that."

"Challenge accepted," Cross quipped with a slight smirk.

"Oh, hell no!" Lin scolded playfully, pushing him away from the stove. "Not with _that_ look you're staying in this kitchen."

"Linly, can Tatsu accept challenge of Cross?" Tatsu inquired eagerly.

"Do that and we're having fried tater Tatsu for breakfast," Lin threatened, causing the Nopon to yelp and run in place out of panic. "Tatsu, slow down!"

Tatsu wound up running on top of Cross's comm device that he left on the counter, causing the cowardly Nopon to slip and somehow fling himself over in the direction of the stove top, which was active and had a steaming tea kettle that was about to reach full pressure.

"Meh-meh-meh?!" Tatsu cried, knocking the kettle off into the floor and replacing the hot spot with his bottom. "H-H-H-HO-HOOOOT!"

The result was an instant red Nopon posterior with the Nopon that it was attached to attempt to fly away with his wings as the painful sensations continued to roast his little brain.

Lin face-palmed while Cross sweat-dropped and continued watching blankly at the antics Tatsu had embarked on while trying to cool down his flaming butt. The Nopon tried to use the spilled tea water, but it was still boiling hot and only made the pain worse. Tatsu scrambled about the kitchen like a headless chicken before climbing up the kitchen sink. In his frenzy, though, he turned the faucet handle on the hot setting and it only irritated his steamed rear.

"T-TATSU CAN'T TAKE NO MORE BURNING!" Tatsu screamed at the top of his lungs.

His last resort wound up bouncing over to the refrigerator, inadvertently bumping into Lin on her face, and using the rebound to land in the stored ice in the freezer section. Lin stumbled back on her feet before Cross quickly caught her by the arms.

"Ugh, that's smarts," Lin grumbled as Cross helped her stand up. "Talk about a 'Tatsu-maki Senpukyaku'… Thanks, Cross." She then looked around the kitchen to inspect the mess Tatsu made from his heat-induced trauma, from a few knickknacks knocked out of place to Cross's tea kettle and water spilt on the floor. "I'm really sorry for the mess Tatsu made. You probably were working really hard with it."

"Easy come, easy go," Cross sighed, shrugging.

He had half-expected something like this to happen, which did help mitigate his frustration a bit. And with Tatsu the way he was, he could only blame himself for not being as prepared for such an occurrence.

"Let me make it up to you!" Lin proposed. "I'll make some new tea for us and make sure Tatsu doesn't screw up this time."

"Tatsu sorry for ruining Cross's tea time," Tatsu mumbled, having been weakened from his hysteria while adjusting the position of his large sitting muscle in the freezer to affect the parts that were still burned.

"K, I'm gonna clean up this mess," Lin announced with a kitchen rag towel on hand, but paused upon seeing Cross already a step ahead in mopping up the spilled water. "Don't start without me!"

Wanting to make up for crashing the onset of Cross's day, Lin helped clean up the messes Tatsu made while starting up a fresh new pot of tea to boil. Cross was impressed on how timely she enacted and had learned that these were side activities she would do whenever she was stumped on solving a mechanical problem. She claimed that doing new activities refreshes the mind for the next time she would attempt at the problem again.

Cross was reminded of her last homework assignment of providing a way for Skells to fly, which was certainly easier said than done. She had to make due with available resources and only after thoroughly exploring Mira did she manage to find appropriate substitutes for materials to stabilize the Skell flight modules.

As a result of Lin's determination and Cross's inclination to see her dream come true, the creation of the Skell flight module was a success and the growth of humanity was viable to soar and reach new heights as previously inaccessible locations throughout Mira were now accessible.

He was proud to have witnessed this plucky thirteen-year old gain her wings and succeed the vision that her deceased parents had originally started.

Proud almost like a father would have been.

As Cross watched Lin prepare the tea and keep Tatsu on a leash, he thought back to that day and wondered if her parents, within whichever afterlife they were in now, would be very pleased of their daughter right now. It seemed that both he and Elma had served as sort-of parental substitutes for the gadgeteer genius since they had formed the new Team Elma.

He was about to open up the interface of his comm device and go over the placement of his probes on FrontierNav right as Lin walked up to him and offered him a steaming delicate cup of the peppermint tea he had attempted to make earlier.

"It's ready," Lin said sweetly, holding the tea plate containing the cup up.

"Thanks," Cross nodded, accepting the cup.

Lin rose up an inquisitive brow.

"Why are you holding your tea cup like that?" she inquired, indicating that Cross was gripping it at the outer rim with his fingers instead of using the handle.

"You remember full well what happened," Cross simply responded.

"That wasn't your fault," Lin sighed. "That tea cup you had then was super ancient. Its handle was bound to snap off at some point. I'm the one who should be sorry for not paying attention to which cup to give you."

"Still not going to risk it," Cross mumbled, taking a slow sip of his tea.

"I just find it strange how you're handling the tea cup," Lin replied, holding her hands up. "Elma is right that you can be stubborn about even the most menial of things."

"Did she send you to babysit me?" Cross asked wryly.

"How'd you—Never mind that," Lin denied. "We have a day off to ourselves. How about after tea we walk around NLA and see what's new with everyone?"

"Tatsu like idea Linly suggested," Tatsu spoke up, flailing his limbs and wings in an attempt to get down. "Can Tatsu join friends on walk through NLA? Tatsu will be on best behavior this time."

"Yeah, that's fine," Lin answered, holding up her own tea cup to drink. "Just as soon as we've had our tea and crumpets."

* * *

The outside weather for NLA was clear. As Cross, Lin, and Tatsu noted upon leaving the BLADE Barracks, activity throughout the administrative district was at an all-time high. Finding the Lifehold Core had certainly played as a huge motivating factor in getting everyone working hard, including the xenos that have entered into treaties with the humans. There were some Ma-non and Nopon BLADEs going about in their respective divisions as far as the eye could see. There were even more Wrothian BLADEs seen going about than yesterday.

It seemed that there was additional enlistment before any of them figured.

Upon walking through Armory Alley, the trio was greeted by many BLADE operatives that were practically major fans of Team Elma. Even the mighty Tatsu was happy to greet his adoring followers. Lin was enthusiastic in sharing the love back with open waves while Cross responded back with a simple smile and wave that managed to melt the hearts of many female BLADEs that looked his way.

He wasn't accustomed to all the attention despite the fact that he was considered one of the few BLADE agents who quickly rose in the ranks from a rookie to a veteran. He only did what he had to because it gave him purpose.

His purpose now, as he felt, was continue exploring Mira as part of Team Elma and figure out its mysteries for the sake of mankind. It was something that both he and Elma had agreed upon that they would discover hidden areas together and with Lin and Tatsu as well. There was no pressure in exploring with the Ganglion out of the way.

They passed by L's shop, to which the jolly Miran wanderer called out to them as means to promote and advertise his shop.

"Well if it isn't three-quarters of Elma's team humbly gracing our store," L greeted. "How, we may ask, is your day running?"

"Uh, it's good?" Lin responded, feeling somewhat sure that was what L was asking. "How's business, L?"

"Why, it is booming beyond our wildest imaginations!" L exclaimed. "Thanks to your help in gathering the materials needed for our tinkering, we've been able to open up new rows of products to expand our business with."

"Tatsu glad L's shop is successful," Tatsu commented. "Tatsu feels that L should offer Tatsu sixty-forty cut in profits for all the help Team Tatsu has given."

"Tatsu, you sleazy little potato," Lin scolded.

"Ah, but you already share in the bounty of prosperity we have," L replied, much to their confusion. "You must give thanks to our Special Assistant Manager, Cross, and his wonderful recommendations that have caused the joyful delights to beam from the eyes of our customers."

"We do?" Lin and Tatsu asked, looking at him.

"His shop is interesting," Cross explained with a quick shrug. "I figured it was the least I could do after all the help he's given with some missions."

"Indeed," L concurred. "And with Cross having pronounced his BLADE status visiting our little shop, the effect of dominoes took place and other BLADEs were lured in like moths to candles. We had more credits than we could do with them, so we agreed to split the proceedings fifty by fifty."

"How was I not informed of this?" Lin complained, miffed that she was out of the loop.

"The proceeds went to Elma," Cross explained. "Did she not tell you?"

"Oh, that girl owes me _big_ for this," Lin muttered with a tightened fist.

"Tatsu want payback on Elma not telling," Tatsu announced.

"Settle down, children," Cross advised. "With all that she's done for us, you really think a few credits is worth pulling off some revenge scheme on her?"

Lin and Tatsu glanced at each other before looking down shamefully.

"I suppose not," Lin said. "She, or you, could've at least told us what's been going on."

"Tatsu in agreement as well," Tatsu mumbled.

"Look, she's probably been too busy that she might've forgot to let you two know," Cross reasoned.

"She's doing some official work with Vandham, Maurice, and Nagi," Lin mentioned. "Otherwise, she'd be out here with us. More specifically, you."

"Come on," Cross ushered gently, taking Lin by the hand. "We're losing daylight. Let's head over to Deliverance Park. You said that's where you'd spend your downtime at."

"Yeah!" Lin exclaimed, eager from hearing the aspect.

"Many lucks to you, friends, as you enjoy your off days!" L called out as he waved good-bye to them.

"I don't even…" Lin sighed from hearing him.

From fully passing through Armory Alley and walking around the front of BLADE Tower, the trio found and boarded the elevator that would deliver them closer to the residential district. They passed by the cathedral area, observing a few people and some xenos who were curious of the relgions humans believed in.

The residential district wasn't as bustling as the administrative district, but was just as full of life as anywhere in NLA. Humans and xenos alike were walking down the sidewalks and living the peaceful life they dreamt about.

The walk had been fairly long and it was some time in the afternoon at this point, but Cross, Lin, and Tatsu had arrived at Deliverance Park. Lin and Tatsu were quick to play and run off while Cross opted to sit on a bench and watch them from afar. There were a handful of people enjoying the quaint environment the park offered.

Cross also noticed Hope being the hope bringer that she has been, giving out sound advice or listening to others pour their hearts out to her. Even with Ornella gone, she still strove to do what was morally right. In spite of the trials she had been through as far as he knew, Hope turned out well as a strong BLADE and a beloved figure for others to look up to.

With this mindset, he glanced back to where Lin and Tatsu were frolicking. It was still hard for him, and anyone for that matter, to imagine her as an actual thirteen-year old with all the experience and work she did. She was practically the youngest member of BLADE, as far as he was aware. She had accomplished more than a regular thirteen-year old girl her age would've done.

To top it off, she had the rest of her life to look forward to. She certainly had a lot more years left than every other older BLADE, presuming that everyone regained their real bodies and began to age again. It gave him additional fulfillment with the father-daughter-like dynamic have been established between them.

In any case, Cross wanted to see her reach her greatest potential for as long as he was with her.

Just as any parent would want to see their child soar.

* * *

 **I'm surprised I was able to update this quickly. I have a tough semester this time, so don't get used to frequent updates. I will try to get as much done before I become fully immersed in school.**

 **Again, I want to say that I love L, even with his questionable and mysterious nature. Supposedly, his concept art originally gave him a more sinister role, given his general appearance and his full name being an anagram? I wouldn't know. I don't have the concept art book. In any case, I look forward to when I get to write about him.**

 **I figured I'll be going by the order in which the main characters are recruited, with Irina being next. The other recruitable characters will probably be in alphabetical order. Same with the DLC recruitable characters, in which it would be Alexa, Bozé, H.B., and Yelv.**

 **Anyway, please review!**


	3. Cross and Irina: Vulnerable

**I feel like this one came pretty well, but I guess it's up to what you readers feel also matter.**

* * *

Cross felt like he was finally left alone this time around as he casually traversed through New LA's commercial district.

Alone in the sense that he had no one to accompany him.

He was alone within the crowd of faceless citizens of varying races and origins.

Elma had been pulled into another mandatory meeting with the BLADE higher-ups while Lin begun formulating new schematics to implement anti-gravitational modules to improve Skell flight and mobility. As for Tatsu, he was busy stuffing his face with some additional snacks Lin made for him in order to keep him quiet and prevent him from disrupting her thinking processes.

This was not a day off for Cross, but there weren't any particularly dangerous or interesting missions currently available on the Mission Board. In any case, he kept himself occupied with some gathering and bounty missions earlier in the day.

Now was his decided lunch break. There were plenty of old-fashioned Earth restaurants to dine at. Army Pizza was off the list, however, due to it constantly being overcrowded with pizza-crazed Ma-non. There weren't many other restaurants that appealed to him either. He would blame Lin for giving him such an acquired taste for top-notch comestibles that everything else just pales in comparison.

Cross wandered near the south end of Barista Court. The restaurants around this area were a lot simpler and relatively cheaper. Perhaps a simple sandwich and drink café style would suffice for the time being.

Just as he was about to join the line, he spied from his sharp, rather intimidating eyes a familiar dirty-blond-haired Interceptor just idling about. Cross encountered Irina Akulov from time to time, mostly through dangerous BLADE missions. Outside of work, she really wasn't half bad upon getting to know her.

If he were to have L describe the situation for him, he would likely say something along the lines of thawing out the queen of frost… Close enough.

Simply approaching her was enough for Irina to notice the sharp BLADE.

"I feel like I've run into you almost everywhere now, Cross," Irina greeted with an amused grin. "You're probably wondering what I've been up to. Just the usual, of course. I was going to come here with Gwin, but Vandham had assigned him to some tough missions to test his mettle. Anyway, I'm just about to get lunch though, so if you want, you're welcome to join me."

"Hmm," Cross considered the option highly, but was forced to choose quickly as Irina quickly got up in his face with a narrowed look.

"You're really not going to have me eat alone, are you?" Irina questioned.

Cross immediately recalled the last time he encountered her in this type of situation and how Lin remarked that it was kind of pathetic of her doing so. And this was before a couple of BLADE hooligans decided to harass her and by extension, Elma. If he hadn't stepped in to fight alongside Irina, he was sure Elma was more than willing to help Irina teach those dolts to know their place, regardless of her position.

Irina did have a point that he was a bit of a hothead like her despite maintaining a cool façade.

The young woman didn't get as much respect as she deserved for her efforts and loyalty to BLADE. Not wanting things to go south on such a good day, he swiftly nodded to get her to back off with a more contented expression.

It was certainly strange, to say the least. He had assumed after being around Irina for as long as he was that she wouldn't care about what others thought about her, which included whether or not she ate alone at a restaurant. She had always carried herself as the headstrong, dedicated, and independent lieutenant that was also willing to take as many dangerous missions as Team Elma did.

Though it wasn't until he and the rest of Team Elma learned from Gwin that she might be suicidal with the pain of losing her younger brother, Leon, finally taking its toll on her. It didn't help that Marcus had been killed by a Ganglion missile barrage quite a while ago, and he was one of the few men that she respected and cared for.

In any case, he quietly accompanied her to the line in front of the register, which had fortunately shortened during their earlier greeting. At least they could get this little lunch get-together done and over with as soon as possible.

He wouldn't really call it a date due to their meeting being circumstantial, his status being currently involved with Elma, and Irina likely denying and threatening to cut off his tongue would he actually use that term.

After placing their orders and retrieving their food, they found an open outdoor table to sit at. The day was too nice not to sit outside, after all.

"We don't get to spend time together off work," Irina remarked, settling in. "You're one of the few cool guys in BLADE I would hang out with, especially since you're on the Colonel's team."

"It's the busy life," Cross shrugged, taking a bite out of his sandwich. He swallowed before deciding to continue the conversation. "What's new with you?"

"Oh, you know, trying to pave the way for humanity's survival and all," Irina responded. "My team fended off a small herd of wild suids by the West Gate yesterday. Though those creatures usually mind their own business, we couldn't take leave the risk that some unlucky BLADE would run into them. I'm sure you know."

"Oh, how so?" Cross prompted.

"I heard from Carl that one of your earlier missions involved clearing out a handful of baby suids from a nearby cave," Irina explained. "You even got the mother on your case. You certainly don't have any qualms about offing the youth."

"I did what I had to do," Cross replied nonchalantly.

"Normally, I'd be against such notions of targeting little ones, but further research on these indigens showed that they were bound to be a major pain in the ass if left unchecked, so I guess we owe it to you for getting rid of them," Irina said, taking another sip from her drink. "It isn't a surprise why the Colonel holds you in such high regard, both as a BLADE and as her lover. I know it's a decision she'd make, giving you two some more common ground."

"You have quite the admiration for Elma," Cross noted with a slightly raised brow.

"We go way back," Irina continued. "The Colonel has earned my respect during our time together, regardless of her species. She's also the kind of woman I aim to be someday, so strong, respected, dependable, and not affected by any cat call some guy would throw her way. So call it whatever you want. Gwin's already made me immune to such comments with his acerbic imagination."

"Admiration is still admiration," Cross brushed off. "I don't have a problem with it, of course. It's also clear that Elma considers you a precious colleague, just thought you ought to know."

"She… she really said that?" Irina asked incredulously, nearly spilling her drink at the excitement.

Cross couldn't help but raise a brow on the notion.

"… Yeah? Why wouldn't she?"

"Well, it's not like the Colonel to just suddenly get sentimental, at least that's what I originally thought. I figured that she was super focused and practically married to the job, which was why I usually never see her close with a man for extended periods of time. But then, you came along and I'm seeing new sides of her."

"But what's that got to do with you?"

"I don't know, really. Just… someone like her looking up to someone like me seems a bit… unlikely."

"Tch, you're not giving yourself as much credit as you deserve, Irina. I know that Elma likes you and respects you highly. She's even told you to drop the 'Colonel' title a few times already."

"What are you saying now, Cross?"

"I think the real question is: do you like yourself?"

Irina felt her voice suddenly disappear. She couldn't reply to the sudden philosophical question that this mystery BLADE just proposed to her. At least, not immediately. Answers to his question had quickly surfaced to the forefront of her mind, but they weren't particularly the kind of answers she liked or favored at all.

She felt that the question she had to answer before answering Cross's question was if she did trust him enough to share her true feelings. Cross had proven himself different than other men she had known since leaving the Earth behind. Much like Gwin, Marcus, and to certain extents and ranges from Doug, L, and even Lao before turning traitor, Cross was one of the few male BLADEs that she was comfortable around with and respected.

Of course, it might have helped that he was initially handpicked by Elma to be on her team, but that was beside the point.

He was straight with people, if not brutally honest. His known personality flaw was his tendency to snark at various scenarios whenever they just happened to set themselves up for the one-liner. She has been prone to doing the same in more infrequent intervals, so that quirk was excused.

 _I gotta tell him now_ , Irina decided in her mind before continuing off with her mouth. "Before I say anything more, I have a request for you to do. Just… don't judge me or look at me differently than you would. I don't need the pity, got it?"

Cross simply gave a respectful nod of the head to solidify his promise.

"Good," Irina resumed. "The truth is… I've been blaming myself for a lot of careless mistakes that have costed the lives of those close to me, as well as the resources needed to survive on Mira. I… I used to have a younger brother… named Leon. I loved him dearly. He was the only remaining family I had back on Earth. He was also Gwin's best friend, which is kinda why it looks like we're on familiar terms."

"… …"

Cross was reminded once more of Gwin's story from when after Team Elma had put him through a quick but hellish boot camp to toughen him up. Irina probably didn't know that he already knew thanks to her subordinate, but nonetheless waited for her to continue on. She hesitated for a bit and almost appeared close to tears, which was a rather astounding sight to witness.

"Despite my efforts, he didn't make it to the Whale. I didn't want to leave him behind, but it was do or die from there. I'm not one who'd ever leave behind family for anything, so you can believe that stung more than anything in the world. Working with Gwin and the Colonel gave me some reprieve, but that loss still haunts me to this day."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cross offered.

"You had nothing to do with it, so don't apologize," Irina snapped back before realizing her behavior. "S-Sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Go on," Cross urged.

"I'm not sure where to go from there, to be honest," Irina replied, tapping her fingers on the table top. "I've just had so much crap to go through since leaving Earth and becoming a BLADE."

"So much so that you've built up an emotional wall not to simply focus on your work, but to also stop the pain inside," Cross surmised, much to Irina's surprise. "When you said you blamed yourself for things like not being able to bring your brother along, you didn't want to deal with the same kind of pain by keeping a careful distance between those you cared about. You had no problem with Elma as she was capable of handling herself, though I imagine Gwin and Marcus might be a different story."

"How'd you…? I…"

"Your case sounds not so different from Lao's, but he chose to cope with it differently instead of taking up dangerous missions."

"Am I really that easily read?" Irina inquired, looking away as though she was ashamed of what she shared.

"I don't parade myself as an 'expert' on people despite being pulled in to do Mediator jobs time to time, but I'll just say that it's hard _not_ to relate to individuals like you," Cross explained. "You don't want to show your vulnerable side at anyone because of past experiences that made you hurt as a result. It only goes to show that you're still human, even though we're technically not human at the moment."

"Oh, yeah," Irina agreed, remembering that the bodies of mankind were artificial mimeosomes and not true flesh and blood. "And here I thought it was because I wasn't the average girly girl."

"Probably part of the layer of your wall," Cross continued. "You wanted to gain respect regardless of your gender. Those dumbasses harassing you back then were just asking for it."

"Heh, glad you agree," Irina grinned, realizing a warm feeling filling into her cheeks.

This sensation was a bit foreign to her and as she quickly pondered on what might be causing her to feel like this, her heart was pounding harder and quicker in her chest. She looked at Cross, who was now casually moving his drink in a circle to swirl the leftover ice and liquid since he had finished his elucidation.

If she was feeling what she _thinks_ she's feeling for him, then she felt even more embarrassed and withdrawn if that was the case. She then realized that she had opened herself to him even more than she would do whenever Cross found her around New LA. She can't. She just can't. Not with him.

"S-Sorry, but I gotta scram!" Irina announced, suddenly getting on her feet and jarring the table with her hips. "I'm needed back at the administrative district!"

Before Cross could even ask, Irina had bolted from her seat and ran. She was certainly a bizarre range of emotions today, to the point that she became another customer for his unofficial therapy sessions. Though she unloaded what he already knew of her, more or less, the fact remained that she did open up to him and showed her more vulnerable side.

Though he wanted to leave her alone, he knew that if Elma found her and traced her odd behavior back to him, she would likely make him fix whatever was wrong with her just so that all the drama would stop.

As he also stood out of his seat and cleared out the trash from his table, Cross had then realized that Irina wasn't even running in the direction of the administrative district. More like…

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous, even for her," Cross sighed.

* * *

Irina rested on a bench in Deliverance Park. She didn't bother to look how she managed to cross a wide distance from Barista Court in the commercial district to the park area of the residential district. She just needed time to herself before getting back to work.

However, all she did was reflect back on her lunch with Cross.

"I can't… Not with him," Irina mumbled. "He's with the Colonel, so what does that make me? A homewrecker by thought?"

"Irina," a low, but firm voice called out, pulling her from her thoughts.

"You found me, Cross," Irina said, looking up and giving an uneasy grin and giggle.

"You left your trail open and I heard around NLA about your whereabouts," Cross explained, folding his arms.

"I suppose you also want an explanation about why I suddenly ditched you at the café without even giving a proper good-bye," Irina surmised.

"I'm listening," Cross nodded.

Irina gave a heavy sigh and continued to internally beat herself up over her carelessness. She knew she would have to face the facts and confront this issue at some point. The truth was that she had this feeling for a while whenever Cross was around, but not to the strong degree it was manifesting itself now.

She recalled the first time she felt like this around him was when he found her sitting by the hangar and having her assault rifle checked on. She had shared her belief that guns and weapons were the only thing worth checking and reinforcing as means of protection as armor would eventually give way after much damage, regardless of how strong it was.

Much like how her 'emotional armor' had finally cracked earlier this day.

"Listen, sharing that story about Leon was something I guess I still wasn't comfortable with," Irina began. "The failure as an older sister still bears its weight on my shoulders on top of helping humanity survive out here in the wilds of Mira. But that's not the main reason why I ran away. The truth is… I… I… _I_... Oh, the hell with it!"

As though she jumped off of the bench, Cross was caught off guard when Irina seized his face and made him turn his head, just so that she could place a fiery kiss on his right cheek. She backed off after a few seconds of planting a rather wet one on his skin, looking away and blushing heavily.

"… Uh," Cross blinked.

"Truth is I wanted to do it on your lips, but I don't want to betray the Colonel like that," Irina muttered, attempting her haughtily defensive tone. "I can't believe you made me like you. Not to brag about it, but I'm the one who usually lures the guys in, even though they're basically uncivilized beasts. But for men like you, not only are you resistant to my natural charms, but you've made me _fall_ for you!"

This girl was certainly becoming one basket case after another. There has got to be an actual therapist in New LA somewhere. Cross wasn't sure if he could handle any more hidden baggage from her. He only listened to her earlier just to be nice, but now, she was definitely making her regret it.

So Irina had a secret thing for him, but was forcing herself not to act on it due to her overwhelming respect for Elma as well as for the sake of professionalism. He was wondering a bit why she hasn't been this forward with Gwin, who clearly had the hots for her.

Just what was their exact relationship?

Did she only see him as a younger brother substitute for her own late brother? Or did she reciprocate Gwin's feelings and only acted under the pretense of maintaining a professional relationship for the sake of his safety?

In any case−.

"Cross!" a couple of cheerful voices echoed.

A pair of beautiful human women that appeared almost identical, save it for some minor aesthetics, was running up to him and Irina, eagerly waving to get his attention. Irina couldn't help but smirk at this turn of events, especially when she saw Cross's expression.

"Have you decided?" one of them asked, bouncing on her heels.

"Which one of us?" the other continued, gazing at him with an adorably hopeful look.

"Quite the fan club you've got there, Cross," Irina quipped, finding this moment to be a good pick-me-up for her mood. "Or should I say, 'Cross-anova'? Man, I'm good!"

"Fun-ny," Cross remarked wryly before walking between the two and extending a hand out to touch their shoulders, much to their sudden fright.

"Cross, wait!" the two of them warned.

At the slightest touch, their forms sparked and disappeared, revealing their true forms. They were now more identical than ever, save for the color of their unique uniforms varying in dark shades. Irina leapt into the defensive, wielding her knife on hand.

"Definians!" Irina declared. "What are they doing here?!"

"Wait," Cross intervened, holding a hand up to stop her. "They're reformed Definians. This one is Erio while the other is Lyvia. They've… taken a liking to me after helping them with their 'mother' issues."

"I noticed," Irina remarked dryly. "Now I recall a few of them from the reports."

"Cross, choose me!" Lyvia proposed. "I can become whatever you desire!"

"Don't listen to her!" Erio interrupted, comically pushing her out of the way. "I can do it better than she can!"

"Do what better?!" Lyvia rebutted, getting in her Definian sister's face as rivalry sparks crackled between their heated stares.

"Hey, you girls better leave this man alone," Irina warned, stepping in for Cross.

Sensing a threat to their romantic prerogatives, both Erio and Lyvia mentally called a temporary truce and turned on the dirty-blond-haired Interceptor. One BLADE shouldn't be too much for them to handle together.

"Oh, are you supposed to be his girlfriend?" Erio inquired.

"That makes you prime target number one over Erio here," Lyvia stated.

"Not me, but someone higher up in BLADE won't like it if you try to take her man away," Irina retorted, taking up a fighting stance. "Plus, women like you irritate me. You make yourselves so desperate by throwing yourself at any man for some sort of affection. At least I don't make it painfully obvious."

"My, we're dealing with a little miss badass over here," Erio smirked, also taking up a fighting stance. "This should be interesting, indeed."

"We don't care who gets in the way as long as I get Cross in the end," Lyvia said, eliciting another furious look from her sister.

"Enough," Cross interrupted, getting in between the women. He first looked at Irina. "Don't go picking fights on behalf of other people." He then turned his piercing gaze on the Definians. "And you two, I've already let you two down as gently as I could. I'm involved with another woman now. If you decide to fight now, you'll leave me no choice but to fight back. Are we clear?"

Erio and Lyvia gave off a frustrated huff. If Cross was to join in the brawl, then failure was a guarantee. They refuse to fight him and even if they could, they were savvy enough to know that this would be a battle they could not win. They backed off and reactivated their holographic disguise programming, resuming their beautiful human forms.

"You haven't seen the last of us," Erio parted.

"We won't give up until your heart belongs to one of us," Lyvia proclaimed. "We'll do it fair and square next time to avoid unnecessary damage, but only for you, Cross."

With that said, both Definians left and went their separate ways. There was no doubt that they had future plans on winning him over. At the meantime, Irina walked up to Cross and gave off a whistle of relief.

"Gee, no high-ranking BLADE is safe from his or her fans," Irina commented. "I should've figured this kind of baggage came along with you."

"They mean well," Cross answered. "They just feel a bit empty since they don't have much else to do. They defected from the Ganglion. Their queen is trapped on top of BLADE Tower. They have new opportunities to explore living here."

"Talk about having a full plate," Irina snorted. "Hey, you listened to me ramble on about my pathetic life. You're welcome to open up to me and share me yours. I heard from the Colonel that you recovered your past memories, and I'm really curious to hear what your previous life was like."

"It's not the most pleasant one," Cross pointed out.

"Neither was mine, in case you forgot," Irina reminded. "It's only fair that I listen to your story. And besides, I owe you a drink. Murderess and I really dug deep in your wallet after clearing her name. It's the least I can do. And I'm certain the Colonel would let you go for just one night. But she's welcome to come along if she wants."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Cross asked drolly.

"I practically poured my heart out to you and I'm naturally stubborn, so yeah," Irina answered. "I'll swing by the barracks later to catch you or the Colonel. So look forward to it, got it?"

This woman sometimes does not take 'no' for an answer. Cross supposed it was no wonder that she got Gwin wrapped around her finger. But it was an… interesting experience to see different sides of the usually self-disciplined and levelheaded lieutenant.

Especially since she trusted him enough to show a more vulnerable side.

* * *

 **So I'm also liking the idea of Cross and Irina hooking up, though I have no preference between him and Gwin. Speak of the latter, we'll see what he thinks next chapter.**

 **As for the Definians that showed up here, there really exists a mission in which they can fall in love with Cross, regardless of gender. I don't know much of the details about it as I haven't been able to play recently. Supposedly, it's accessible if the player destroys Fortun in Definian Downfall as an alternate mission to Fortun and Glory. However, I don't know if it exists if Fortun is spared, and if so, how far post-game would it have to be? But in any case, I just wanted a reason to write a bit of it.**

 **Also, if you have any particular scenarios you want to see Cross and a recruitable party member that has yet to be written here to be in, feel free to suggest them in a review and I'll take them into consideration, if I can work them in with my initial ideas or not. I'll credit you at the end of the chapter if I do wind up using your concept.**

 **So please review!**


	4. Cross and Gwin: Chances

**I'm going to admit that I had a bit of fun formulating this one to the point that it went crazy in my imagination, but I managed to put the reins on it enough to make this satisfactory. This might feel a bit more of a group interaction than the expected one-on-one, but regardless, enjoy!**

* * *

"Teriaaa!"

The battle cry heard around the Outfitters Test Hangar, the flying strike missed. Gwin should've figured that his opponent was smarter against such an unguarded tactic. As classic as a flying kick was, there was no room for theatrics in a real fight.

Enforcing his traction by falling onto a knee, he turned heel as quickly as he could in order to catch his sparring partner off guard. He had yet to full turn around to face the eager Interceptor as Gwin charged in to take him down.

"Hyah!"

Gwin was denied the chance as his opponent turned his own strength against him, throwing him along the cold steely floor. He was not fazed by the attempted sneak attack.

"Ugh, you got me, Cross," Gwin relented.

Cross walked over and extended a hand out to help him up. Gwin quickly took it and stood back up. Sliding along the floor without wearing anything from the waist up would leave some unsightly scratches, even if their bodies were just mimeosomes. Cross still wondered why Gwin insisted on having these shirtless one-on-one hand-to-hand spars, especially considering that fists alone could not handle even the smallest hostile indigen.

Though CQC could handle rogue BLADE agents without the excessive violence of melee and ranged weaponry, as well as the overwhelming usage of Skells in fights, it was still interesting to consider what the purpose of having these exercises was.

One would suppose that all of this effort was geared towards building up strength and stamina.

"Feeling the burn?" Cross quipped.

"I'm really feeling… something," Gwin replied, slightly rubbing a pained side of his torso.

"Two buff guys, well one buff and the other not as much, ripe for the picking," a tough feminine voice remarked.

"Irina, you know both of them are in really great shape," a younger voice reasoned.

"All the more of a reason to 'recruit' them," a third, mature voice added.

"Tatsu thought Elma would bring friend Cross along anyway," the unmistakable voice of the Nopon companion interjected.

Cross and Gwin soon found themselves being approached by the company of Elma, Lin, Irina, and Tatsu. The three BLADE women were dressed in more casual clothing in place of their typical armor and work-related uniform.

"Hey, ladies," Gwin greeted, grinning rather bashfully as he had no shirt on in front of them. "How goes it?"

"It goes well, Gwin," Lin replied. "You two look like you worked up a sweat."

"At least these guys know how to use their down time productively," Irina commented.

"I suppose that would be why Cross seems to be more appealing than ever," Elma said with a sly smile. "A man of action as always."

"And here I thought you like the sight of him drenched," Lin teased.

"I really don't know what you mean, Ms. Koo," Elma responded, nonchalantly looking at the ceiling.

"Hah! You're just as a terrible liar as Secretary Nagi," Lin commented, placing her hands on her hips. "And 'Ms. Koo'? Seriously?"

"Give the Colonel a break, Lin," Irina intervened, taking another chance to ogle Cross and Gwin with interest, her sight lingering slightly longer on the latter. "I really don't blame her for this."

"Like what you see, lieutenant?" Gwin provoked, holding his arms behind his head to show off his chest and abdominal areas.

"A-As if!" Irina rebutted, swiftly turning her head away while her face bore a luminescent blush. "I was only admiring Cross's physique. T-That's all!"

Gwin turned to see Cross giving her a skeptic look that practically expressed, '… Really?' The usually silent BLADE then looked Gwin in the eye, giving him a thumbs-up and mouthed that he got this, much to the youthful BLADE's appreciation.

"Moving on to business, we have a mission for you two," Elma announced in her authoritative stance. "It is of utmost importance that you consider this seriously."

"What's the trouble?" Gwin asked.

"Basically, we girls are going shopping and we need a couple of strong guys bent to our will to carry our shopping bags," Irina surmised wryly, inciting a look of horrific shock from her subordinate.

"You can't be serious!" Gwin exclaimed in outrage. "THAT'S your big emergency?!"

"We may not be serious, but Elma's orders are for the both of you to be serious," Lin answered cheekily.

Gwin stumbled to get out a good counter response, but ultimately fell into speechlessness. Cross was a little harder to read, but if there was any indication with that blank stare he would give when exasperated, then it would seem that he was not fond of his newest assignment. Of course, he had experience dealing with this when he was on a few shopping dates with Elma, but that did not necessarily mean he liked the job. He simply tolerated the prospect for her sake only, if nothing else.

"We were also going to throw Doug into the mix because he's a big, strong Harrier and all, but he got lucky and was assigned a mission to exterminate a Tyrant," Irina added.

"L, too," Lin mentioned. "But he wasn't at his shop when we stopped by. Giogion told us that he went off on his own to collect materials for some new products he came up with."

"Which is actually going to be a bit bad for you guys as we took the liberty to invite more girls to join us on our not-so-little shopping spree," Irina continued with a scheming smirk.

"Damn their convenient excuses," Cross muttered under his breath.

"… Tell me she's joking," Gwin whimpered, facing Cross before suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders and hysterically shaking him. "TELL me she's joking!"

"No jokes about it, lover boy," Irina spoke up, placing a hand up to one of her ears to listen for approaching footsteps. "In fact, here they come right now. Perfectly timed!"

Cross and Gwin looked over Irina to see three familiar female figures entering into the Outfitters Test Hangar. Closer inspection revealed them to be Murderess, Hope, and Celica.

"Why…?" Gwin sighed.

"It could be worse," Lin shrugged. "We attempted to invite some more ladies on the trip. Mia decided to wander off, but recommended I get that special Ma-non oil shampoo. And Alexa has got some more projects to work on. However, she did tell me to pick up the latest Excavator Skell figure for her at the shop."

"Wait, there are actually collectible Skell figures being sold?" Gwin inquired.

"It's like a form of the Miralife trading cards for the New LA citizens, but geared towards diehard Skell enthusiasts," Elma explained. "Lin has collected some already."

"But there aren't many Skell models to even make it worth collecting," Gwin mused.

"That is why the main objective is to collect different weapons to equip the Skell figure for battle," Lin clarified. "Its demographic audience is for those that either can't pilot a real Skell or just love Skells in general."

"To each their own," Irina shrugged.

"I still don't like being your shopping pack mule," Gwin grumbled.

"Think of it as a good bonding activity outside of our BLADE duties," Elma offered. "Plus, we're treating it as a mission, so there will be a good reward for making it to the end."

"And I'm guessing that 'reward' is something special for Cross?" Gwin countered.

"Don't worry, Irina said that she'll compensate for your efforts," Elma explained, ignoring his last remark. "I think she mentioned that she'll cook you dinner later."

"… Oh," Gwin grunted, becoming pale and sullen as though he was next on death row.

If there was any indication of Irina's cooking skill, then Gwin's rather lackluster enthusiasm and fearful quivering would be good indicators. He quickly sidestepped to hide behind Cross as to not have Irina catch his reaction to his 'reward.' He didn't have the heart to tell her the truth and he was sure that he would soon lack one as a result of Irina ripping it out herself if he did tell, artificial mimeosome heart or not.

"Cheers!" Celica called out.

"Hey, girls!" Hope greeted, waving over as she and her company reunited with them. "I hope we weren't too late. We were talking about−Aah! Cross!" Catching the former amnesiac without a shirt caused her face to heat up. She bashfully looked away as a result of not being used to seeing half-naked men. "I-I'm sorry! Did we interrupt something?"

"Mmm, what a man," Murderess purred, taking several bold steps to circle him like a vulture to a carcass. "Oh! And Gwin too? Not bad for just a mim."

"They were just training, so don't get any funny ideas, Murderess," Irina advised.

"Lighten up, I'm really a good girl once you get to know me," Murderess winked, holding her hands up in the air. "I'm not touching, see? If anything, it's their fault for teasing me like this. Any longer and I might not help myself. I have urges too, you know."

"Cross, please put on your jacket," Elma ordered neutrally.

"You too, Gwin," Irina said sternly.

"Aww, why end the fun so soon?" Murderess taunted while Cross and Gwin went to retrieve their upper wear before more trouble could've erupted. "I haven't even finished taking a clear mental picture of them abs. And that ass…" She then pulled out her comm device. "Just kidding! Good thing these things come with the additional camera functionality."

"Take a picture and you lose your device and everything stored on it," Elma warned, holding her pistol up and ready.

Murderess was thinking about going through with it regardless as with the technological level humanity being where it was now, she was sure all of her data was backed up and saved somewhere within the BLADE communications mainframe. But then, she realized that Elma would have easier access than her in tapping into the data due to her high position and would deleted all of it if she wanted to before she could've done something about it.

She ultimately relented and placed her comm device back into her pocket. Elma mimicked her and put away her pistol.

"You're no fun," Murderess scoffed.

"Just protecting my teammate's integrity from future exploitation," Elma stated, bearing a triumphant smirk.

"If you didn't want to share him, why not say so?" Murderess questioned casually. "I mean, I'm a woman of honor."

"You really think your nickname brings confidence for anyone?" Irina shot back sardonically. "You ought to know by now, _Sharon_."

"Not yet, Irina, not just yet," Murderess answered, glancing to the side. "I've been getting close to my dream, so the need to supposedly 'backstab' team members has been shrinking away. Not since Cross here saw me for what I truly am… Oh, look, speak of the handsome devil, he and Gwin are back."

True to the white-haired Curator's word, the sole BLADE males of the company returned fully clothed with their usual wear. They had not expected to be pulled into this kind of mission, which was why they were at a lack of more casual outfits.

"Good, you both suited up appropriately," Elma said, scrutinizing the both of them, more particularly on Cross before smiling to herself. "Ready to move out?"

"Still not fond of the idea," Gwin muttered before sharing a look with Cross. He gave him a firm nod back. "But I'm doing it as a man."

"There, not so bad, is it?" Irina asked, brushing a hand on his shoulder while Gwin looked away to hide his blush.

"Still, two guys for six girls?" Cross pointed out.

"Which is why Tatsu will be helping you two out to even some things out," Lin immediately proposed, much to the Nopon's sudden discomfort.

"Meh-meh?!" Tatsu coughed. "Tatsu can't lift heavy shopping bags!"

"Tatsu, you carry around that huge backpack of yours filled with tons of lunchboxes and those weird biter things on the side," Lin pointed out. "At most, you should at least handle mine."

"B-But…"

"Listen, Tatsu, if you do this for me, I'll whip you up your favorite Nopon dish tonight."

"Really? Then Captain Tatsu is on case! Linly can depend on Tatsu and strong arms to carry shopping bags."

"That leaves Cross to help me with my purchases," Elma declared.

"Oh, and mine~," Murderess added seductively. "I don't mind if you 'happen' to take a peek at some of the special garments I'm gonna buy with my shoebox money."

While she didn't want to oppose having Cross carry Murderess's things, Elma did send a warning look over his direction that explicitly stated no funny business. Cross gave a slight nod before looking away. Murderess was simply having the time of her life getting in the way of these two. It just gave her more of a thrill than shooting teammates in the back for additional credits.

"I guess that leaves me in carrying your backs, Irina," Gwin said.

"Mine, Hope's, and Celica's," Irina clarified.

"Wait, why do I get three?!" Gwin complained.

"I feel squeamish burdening him with my belongings," Celica added in sympathy. "I can carry my own bags."

"Me too," Hope spoke up.

"Nonsense, that's what the guys are here for," Irina reassured. "How about this? Celica, if you're comfortable with this, split your shopping bags between Gwin and Cross. That way, they'll be carrying even amounts. Cross has the Colonel and Murderess taken cared of while Gwin has me and Hope."

"If it's alright with him, then I'm willing to oblige to the conditions," Celica replied with a smile.

"Glad to hear the arrangements have been settled," Elma announced. "So girls, ready to hit up the sales in Mall Cruz?"

"Yeah!" all the females cheered.

"And from the guys?" Irina prompted.

"Uhh," Gwin, Cross, and Tatsu grunted halfheartedly.

Regardless of how the males felt, they accompanied the women out of the Outfitters Test Hangar and traveled together towards the commercial district after passing the local Repenta Diner. It looked like nothing more than a sizeable group of friends just hanging out and having fun for once.

With the dangers of humanity practically averted, the Lifehold Core secured, and the Ganglion forces dispersed far enough to even barely register as a threat, these BLADE soldiers had pretty much earned this right for some relaxation time.

Of course, the mood changed once the whole gang reached the heart of the commercial district. The women had pretty much scattered about to different stores to make their desired purchases while Cross, Gwin, and Tatsu were left in their wake. They stood about awkwardly at the south end of Barista Court.

It was difficult to keep track on who went where, but predictably enough, Elma and Irina did visit Mall Cruz first. Murderess and Hope went to a different clothing shop together before agreeing to get fresh cups of tea later. Celica was still window browsing while mumbling aloud to herself on what to get for Rock. And Lin was nowhere to be found.

"Tatsu not like all this confusion," Tatsu whined, hopping anxiously. "Tatsu can't even find Linly anywhere. Girls hunt for bargains like pack of hungry caros!"

"You said it," Gwin agreed, facing Cross. "I'm impressed on how you're dealing with this. At this point, I'd rather be scrubbing the toilets with a toothbrush than join the girls on their shopping sprees."

"You said you want to be there for Irina, right?" Cross brought up.

"Well… yeah, but isn't there any other way I could prove myself useful to her than this?" Gwin reasoned. "I mean, I could have Alexa train me in using her new powerful Skell weapons to impress her. This just seems menial. I feel like I'm not getting anywhere at this rate."

"You've known her for how long now?" Cross decided to ask.

"A long time now," Gwin replied.

"Then you should understand her by now why she's the way she is," Cross explained.

"She's been through a lot, that much I know," Gwin pondered. "But even she stated that she won't do anything that transcends our professional relationship."

"There isn't much left for BLADE to do now that we're entering a time of peace," Cross pointed out. "And you may not see, but Irina does appreciate every little thing you do for her, every sacrifice you make to make her happy. This 'mission' is no exception."

"How do you know this?" Gwin asked skeptically.

"Take it from someone who's finally gotten a better understanding of the opposite sex," Cross answered with a cool smirk. "If you really do care for her, if you really do love her, then you would do what it takes to keep them safe and happy… even if it means having to break their heart to do so."

"Wait… Where did THAT come from all of a sudden?!" Gwin responded, caught off guard by the last comment. "Why would I want to break Irina's heart to keep her safe and happy? I thought the point was to mend her heart after losing Leon?"

"Gwin speaks of truth," Tatsu interjected. "Tatsu no understand either. What does friend mean?"

"The world isn't as black and white as we would want it to be," Cross sighed, taking a glimpse of the Mall Cruz entrance and catching Elma and Irina chat animatedly along the way with bags hanging off their arms. "You should know by now, Gwin, that as soldiers, we were doomed to make grim decisions at some point or another that would decide who lives and who dies."

"Oh," Gwin coughed, realizing what his friend meant.

"I don't know everything that is right, nor did I know if my actions would have future consequences that would be regrettable," Cross continued. "One of these situations included abandoning a greedy scumbag BLADE to his fate to a petramand after he and his teammates ate its children for breakfast."

"What?!" Gwin yelped in surprise.

"The guy, unlike Murderess, was an irredeemable bastard and attempted to ambush me on a prior mission to collect the reward," Cross shared, ignoring Gwin's earlier outburst. "I had long decided the moment a BLADE decided to raise their weapons against me for no reason at all, they can no longer call themselves BLADEs."

"But then, what made Murderess different?" Gwin inquired. "Irina told me about how she sent a bunch of BLADEs against you and her on a mission together."

"I honestly don't know how to explain," Cross shrugged. "There was just something unsettling behind those pretty eyes of hers that there was more than meets the eye with her. I took a chance in forgiving her and as a result, she really is a loyal ally with misunderstood implications."

"In spite all you heard about her, you still gave her a chance and it turned out for the better," Gwin surmised. "Man, I wish I was as decisive as you. Your wisdom even reminds me of what Leon taught me. You know what? I really need to push myself out of my comfort zone even more if I'm to stand a chance with Irina."

"You're getting there," Cross assured. "I know she's bound to give you a chance just as soon as you make it clear you'll give her one. She's changed a lot since I first met you two. She did look at you longer when she found us training at the Test Hangar."

"Oh, yeah, good point," Gwin chuckled.

"Hey, boys, did ya miss us?" Irina jived, holding up her shopping bags and handing them off to Gwin.

"This will be the first of many, so be prepared," Elma advised, handing hers over to Cross. "Take a seat if you have to. We're not sadists, even if we do push you during combat practice."

"Yeah, you guys should enjoy yourselves at least," Irina added.

"Wait, lieutenant," Gwin called out before she left. "Let's grab a bite to eat some time. It's on me."

Irina blinked a few times before a small warm smile gradually formed on her face.

"Gwin, I appreciate it, but I'm sure the Colonel already told you that I'll be cooking for you tonight as thanks for helping out," Irina explained. "I'm doing a new recipe that's to die for."

"That might be the case," Gwin whispered worriedly under his breath. "Water won't save me now."

"Maybe tomorrow or something when we don't have missions to wear us out," Irina suggested.

"I know, but… I just want to show _my_ appreciation for you," Gwin replied with a fond smile.

Irina felt her face warming up and started to fidget in place. Elma had placed a hand on her shoulder, assuring her that it was okay. Without any words, she gestured Cross to join her, providing her a decent example by laying her tender head on his shoulder. Even with Elma's shopping bags weighing down on his arms, Cross was more than willing to reciprocate the affection.

"It's a date," Irina simply said, facing Gwin again with more confidence than before.

Gwin couldn't help but grin like the goofball he was, eliciting many lighthearted chuckled from present company. The weight of Irina's shopping bags on his arms was practically nonexistent. It was as though he was walking on the ninth cloud of seventh heaven… Okay, he needs to fix L's attempt at human metaphors or stop hanging around him altogether.

Cross managed a thumbs-up for him while Elma gave a pleased smile for his efforts. Tatsu did a dance of successful courting in celebration.

Gwin was happy with all of the support of his friends. Cross had been a true bro to him.

Even by taking a chance on the littlest things that can produce huge results in the end.

* * *

 **My thanks to an anonymous reader that went by the name of Guest gave the premise of Cross and Gwin sparring at the beginning. However, I did not involve new Prog Ares models to use, so sorry about that. I was geared more into developing a bit of Gwin and Irina's relationship.**

 **And I'll admit that bringing up more character interactions is a lot of fun, but if I were to start something similar to this, but as interactions between all playable and recruitable teammates, then it'll be quite time consuming with the nearly endless combinations. I'll just throw in references to affinity links and post-battle dialogue from time to time, even though it seems that affinities like that of Lin and Alexa are very popular due to common interests and liked personalities.**

 **Next on deck is Doug, who I will admit I don't know too much outside of his history with Lao and his desire of taking high paying bounty missions. Still, I'll give it a go and improvise.**

 **Please let me know what you think via review or otherwise!**


	5. Cross and Doug: Sentimentality

**Hey, all.**

 **I know that I've been able to update at least once per week in the past, but some major assignments went my way last week. However, I was able to resume playing a bit of** _ **Xenoblade Chronicles X**_ **the past President's Day weekend, so I caught up on a lot of post-story madness. And by that, I meant I finally maxed out affinities with Irina, Gwin, Doug, Nagi, and Mia. Before the beginning of the year, I had just maxed out with Elma, Lin, Lao, L, and Celica.**

 **So until I have a chance to continue it, I'll be continuing work with Phog, Murderess, and Hope. I already got three hearts with Frye, so I decided to switch to Phog to pick up the pace.**

 **Anyway, sorry for taking long to update and for the winding exposition of events above. I finally got something to write for Doug.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Cross didn't really consider himself the sentimental type.

However, it wasn't because of the lack of emotion he displayed in the general public. He was capable of expressing joy, anger, and annoyance, usually the latter when dealing with problematic quirks from his BLADE colleagues and the middle when facing troublesome hostile indigens and rogue BLADEs.

The true was that he didn't really have anything of sentimental value to have and hold onto.

It was already disconcerting as it was when he first lost his memories. And upon gradually recovering them before locating the Lifehold Core, everyone and everything he cared about were left behind on Earth to burn away.

The only person from his past that was among the survivors on Mira was Defense Secretary Nagi, who took him in when he had nothing else left to go on for. But that is a story for another time.

He was casually passing through Division Drive early on in the day when he overheard a peculiar chat from a female BLADE. She mentioned about wanting Doug's new sports car for herself, along those lines at the very least. He recalled catching the burly Harrier at an elevated parking lot in the commercial district with a shiny new sports car by his side.

Another interesting detail he remembered from their conversation was how one could tell of someone's personality depending on what kind of car they wanted to drive. Beforehand, Cross had opted to buy an SUV if he had a chance, recalling that he and his small team could ride and enjoy the open roads of Mira together.

Of course, that was before Doug had shut down the prospect upon mentioning indigens reducing it into a pile of scrap within moments, but that was beside the point.

Things got dark rather quickly when the Harrier mentioned that Lao would've also chosen an SUV as to take his family out on camping trips. Upon vocalizing that thought, Doug felt himself unable to continue speaking and had bid Cross adieu until next time.

Cross had then momentarily reconsidered choosing an SUV in his mind, recalling that he promised to take Elma out for a ride once classic automobiles were restored to their former glory. She had been top priority for quite a while now and supposedly from her last meeting with BLADE command, they might've been able to recover enough data from the Lifehold to recreate those particular vehicles.

True be told, it didn't matter much to him as long as she was happy with, which would lead to realize that he was generally indifferent with material possessions that would bring others joy.

He figured he was happy as long as his friends were.

"Yo, Cross!"

The sharp BLADE had noticed the elevator platform having arrived from the hangar, carrying a sole occupant in the large form of Doug Barrett. He appeared to be as easygoing as ever.

"Hey there," Cross greeted back.

"Just came back and exterminated a Tyrant in Oblivia," Doug grinned. "Also made quite the killer earnings for taking that bad boy down. What's new with you? And how're Lin and Elma?"

"Just walking, really," Cross shrugged. "And they're back at the barracks. Nothing big so far."

"Hey, bro, wanna hang for a bit?" Doug proposed out of nowhere. Catching the skeptical confusion on the shorter man's face, the Harrier further elaborated. "There are actually some things I want to talk to you about, man to man. You're one of the manliest men I know within BLADE aside from big ol' Colonel Square-tache."

"Tch," Cross couldn't help but snort at Vandham's decided nickname.

"Come on," Doug urged. "I can come up some more snappy nicknames for Vandham if that's what it takes."

"Not really necessary, but sure," Cross replied. "I'll hear you out."

"Sweet!" Doug exclaimed in gratitude. "Thanks, man! You're a real bro! No wonder Gwin looks up to you big time for helping him out with Irina."

"They're still together?" Cross inquired, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I know what you mean," Doug added on. "It was obvious to see what he felt for her and I always thought she saw him more as an annoying younger brother instead. Thought it'd be weird for her and all that crap. I guess every dogged guy has his day."

"Have someone you're into?" Cross followed up.

"I have endless possibilities in New LA now that the Lifehold Core's been secured," Doug said, flourishing an arm to view the rest of the city behind him. "Of course, I did have an eye on a pretty little lady that hangs by this new restaurant that just opened up. Funny thing is I told Lao about it and he recommended asking her out to there."

"Oh…"

Doug appeared to hesitate again after mentioning the Master Marksman's name. He then shook his head vigorously and slapped both sides of his face hard. Cross's right eye mildly twitched from catching the strident sounds of the slaps.

"You've probably guessed what… or who… I wanted to talk to you about, Cross," Doug surmised somberly.

"… …" Cross nodded, prompting him to continue on at a comfortable pace.

"Listen, I don't like admitting this, even if I am an open book about it," Doug resumed. "But I'm a guy that just has trouble letting go of the past. I know that you, Elma, Lin, and even that little Nopon tater can attest to that."

"Hmm…"

"I'm still determined to pay off the amount of my old man's debts and create memorials for him on Mira. I want to enjoy all of my sports past times without those xenos ruining them with their disregard for the rules. I want to speed down the open roads in a fancy sports car like I did in my teen years. And I don't want my best friend to be lost to history, especially since that same dumbass still hasn't made up for his crimes."

"You really feel strongly about this, don't you?"

"You have no idea, man."

Doug then pulled the shorter BLADE into a more reclusive location, leading him through the narrow alleys near the large elevator. They were practically behind the stands and terminals of Armory Alley.

"So what is it about Lao you wanted to discuss?" Cross prompted.

"The thing is that new BLADEs are joining us every day, so obviously we need to make room for them," Doug explained. "My team and I were the ones who cleaned out the belongings of the late Team Belisarda. I have all of Lao's old things on me, including spare bodysuits, sniper rifles, javelins, booze, and even a framed picture of his family back on Earth. He never looked so happy. I know Charmaine and Chenshi were really lucky to have such a rocking husband and father."

"Can I have the booze?" Cross jested dryly, knowing how the big guy would react.

"Ha! Dream on!" Doug chuckled before resuming a serious look. "Anyway, I wanted to leave all of these things where they were out of hope for the bastard's return, but we have the future to think about, which is why I'm leaving a good majority of Lao's belongings to you, Cross. Well, except for the booze and the family photo."

"Wait, what?" Cross took a double-take.

"I know you two were pretty close and you both have those similarities, from the black hair, intimidating eyes, the serious manly facades, and−."

"I got that, but I still don't understand why I can't just have the free alcohol."

"Hey, Lao and I have history, so I should be privileged to have the stuff," Doug rebutted. "You should be grateful as is to have the rest of his belongings. I know he considers you a close friend despite going all Benedict Arnold on us. So consider this an even, if not one-sided, distribution of his remnants."

"Fair enough," Cross conceded with a sigh, holding up his hands.

Doug then gave a wide grin and wrapped a hulking armored arm around Cross's shoulders, pulling him in to whisper something in his ear. As Cross listened in, he did the best he could to fight the curling smirk rising from a corner of his lips.

"You up for it?" Doug asked.

"I'm not too fond of the idea, but I think I can live with the expected results," Cross responded, maintaining his neutral face. "I still feel you owe me for this."

"Fine, I'll let you have a taste of Lao's stored booze," Doug relented. "Tonight if you go through with it now."

"Just show me where they are."

"Heh, you really are a sentimental SOB, aren't ya? Just like me!"

* * *

 _Sometime later at the BLADE barracks…_

"This is a really interesting book," Elma remarked aloud, sitting on the sofa with one leg over the other with said book on hand. The team's pet Abyssinian was curled up next to her. "Thanks for the suggestion, Lin."

"I figured the Hungry Games series could be related to us, seeing as we're practically fighting for survival here," Lin replied from the kitchen. "Really thankful that Maurice isn't a corrupt politician that's having us fight one another for sport."

"Perhaps," Elma nodded. "Personally, if I could choose which series should be real, it'd be Harold Pottery. I've entertained the idea about having magic spells and potions in place of advanced tech and giant robots."

"Probably helps that you already look like a magical elf," Lin joked. "Though you'd more likely fit in with Lord of the Precious, you definitely can pull off the look if we could get some lavish medieval robes for you to wear."

"Thanks, but you won't see me walking around in public with such things on," Elma chuckled. "I still have some semblance of dignity to maintain regarding my position."

"I'd imagine once humanity is finally settled in, the old comic cons might start up again," Lin said. "I know we're already working on having our first Skell con pretty soon. Alexa and I have been working on the funding and now, we just need more support from Skell lovers scattered around New LA and we're sure to be a hit!"

"Friends!" Tatsu suddenly alerted. "Tatsu heard someone enter from back door of Skell garage."

"It's probably Cross back from his walk," Elma surmised, turning a page of her book. "I'll check with him once I finish this chapter."

"Tatsu, would you mind greeting him?" Lin requested. "The tea is almost done here. I'll catch up."

"Tatsu is on the case, Linly," Tatsu obliged, waddling off to meet with their third member.

The tea had just finished and Lin was ready to pour into her cup and Elma's when a startled scream echoing out from the resident Nopon was heard. Out of panic, Lin threw aside the tea kettle while Elma did the same with her Hunger Games book, taking a quick mental note on which page she left off before the both of them leapt into action.

They rounded the corner where Tatsu went, finding the little Nopon shivering in astonishment at the figure in front of them. A better look at this stranger's outline caused their eyes to also widen in shock.

"Elma, is that…?!"

"No, it couldn't be!"

"T-Tatsu see it, b-but can't believe it!" Tatsu sputtered.

This figure stood with his back facing them. Under the dim lights of the Skell garage, the slimming dark body suit and the black hair were practically matching the same man that both Elma and Lin had on first impression. However, the hair was shorter on the back, and its style matched someone else's closer than…

"Lao!" Lin exclaimed.

"I'm afraid not, Lin," 'Lao' replied in a close imitation of his deep voice, turning around to reveal his true identity.

The reactions of the three had changed. Elma was mildly displeased, Lin was beginning to fume, and Tatsu fell on his back out of shock.

"How did Lao turn into friend Cross?" Tatsu mumbled in a daze.

"That's because Cross was wearing Lao's clothes!" Lin growled. "Not cool! Not cool at all!"

"How did you get Lao's body wear?" Elma inquired calmly.

She knew that Lao couldn't have returned, which was why she wasn't as upset as Lin was. Still, it was a rather underhanded trick he pulled, considering how much Lin really cared about the fallen Pathfinder, even if it was just supposed to be a simple prank.

"Doug had to clean out his team's place for new BLADEs to move in, so he gifted me his stuff in remembrance," Cross explained, showing off his new outfit. "How does it look?"

"You're not as tall as Lao, but it does show off your legs quite nicely," Elma commented with a catlike grin.

"You really did look like him from the back," Lin added, having calmed down from her earlier anger. "That is, if he had changed his hairstyle and shrunk a few inches. But other than that, it does look good on you. I think you and he are the only ones who could pull off this outfit. Even I'm finding you hot in this and you're probably more than ten years older than me."

Cross took an involuntary step back. There were some lines that he definitely wasn't going to risk, ahem, crossing.

"Don't worry, she never had a 'thing' for Lao," Elma assured. "They had a lot of common ground. And I think Lao saw her as another daughter as means to cope for the one he lost."

"But Cross isn't Lao," Lin pointed out. "Even though they're both cool father figures to me, no one can ever replace Lao."

"Nor do I want to replace him," Cross intervened. "Doug wanted me to help preserve his memory. That is why I plan on mastering the Partisan Eagle and Astral Crusader classes next."

"You've mastered a handful of classes already, haven't you?" Elma smirked, holding out her fingers to count and name some of them off. "You got to Duelist, Galactic Knight, Mastermind, and even Full Metal Jaguar, my specialty."

"All that's left would be the ones you mentioned, along with Shield Trooper and Bastion Warrior," Lin continued. "No one in the history of BLADE has mastered all six major classes before. That's what makes you who you are, Cross."

"I understand now it's to protect the people I've come to care for," Cross stated.

"And remember that we're here with you as a team," Elma added before briefly shaking her head. "No, we're more than just a team. We're your new family now."

"We've always been a family since we were put together day one," Lin corrected.

The two female BLADEs then approached Cross at both sides and ensnared him with unescapable hugs. Tatsu stood back up, shaking himself awake to find a group hug taking place.

"Oh, is it Team Tatsu huggy-hug time already?" Tatsu questioned before leaping up and grabbing onto Cross by the shoulders with his winglike arms.

This warm scene made Cross think back to his past where he still had his two close friends. Even living as underground thugs, they had each other to keep on pressing forward. These feelings of camaraderie had slowly resurfaced the longer he had bonded with his teammates, as well as fellow BLADEs he got to work with.

After all this time, he finally understood that he truly had people he cared about to protect. And he planned on giving his life for them if the occasion ever comes.

Guess Doug was right after all.

He did have some sentimentality after all. That, and a craving for Lao's special booze that night.

* * *

 **So I guess Doug's chapter turned out to be a modified version of his fifth heart-to-heart. I figured that Doug is the kind of guy that refuses to let go of the past, such as his friendship with Lao and his major complaint about human bodies having to be left behind on Earth only to be brain uploaded into the Lifehold database, at least something along those lines. And it was cool for him to actually give me Lao's things, which would've been lost forever otherwise.**

 **My thanks also for the anonymous reader that tipped me off earlier about Doug's heart-to-heart moments before I got to see them for myself, as well as reminding me of Elma's desire to ride in classic automobiles. I didn't too much, but it helped out build up the interactions and relations here.**

 **This should be a good build up for the next party member I'm going to write about. Yes, that is correct. Mr. Lao Huang is next on deck.**

 **Looks like I've got a lot on my shoulders just to make his chapter awesome. Well, I'll give it a go when I have more free time.**

 **And please review on how this chapter went! Thanks!**


End file.
